It: Welcome to Derry director says fans are going to have to wait to see Pennywise in the new horror spin-off: "When he appears, he appears in a big way"

It: Welcome to Derry is set to follow in its trailer's footsteps and make us wait a while for Pennywise to show up – but it has plenty of other frights up its clown-cuffed sleeve, assures the team behind the horror spin-off.

"It's about a build-up of tension," director Andy Muschietti explains in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features the small-screen Stephen King adaptation on the cover and hits newsstands on Wednesday, October 8. "In a series, it translates to basically not showing the monster in a movie until it’s the right time. It's the Jaws effect. It's very basic. The idea is building tension around the apparition of a monster that we know already, and people are waiting – when is it going to appear?

"It's very appropriate for a monster that is a shapeshifter to appear in several different shapes and manifestations before he shows up as a clown," he continues, teasing the surprising ways in which Bill Skarsgård's otherworldly antagonist will present himself in the show. "So I thought that was fun. As a concept, it was pretty basic to me that we would delay the apparition of the monster to create that good anxiety and suspense. When it appears, it appears in a big way. I thought it would be very gratifying for the audience to delay that climax."

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"When you're doing several episodes, you have to make every episode pack a punch," producer Barbara Muschietti, Andy's sister, adds. "That was the hardest balance, to be able to hide Pennywise, but at the same time, create new incarnations and new fears that had a level that could get to a Pennywise level of fear. Andy did a truly incredible job at that. We don't see Pennywise for a while, but the things that we see are pretty damn incredible. And there's so much more!"

As with most King tales, It: Welcome to Derry follows a whole host of characters as they navigate the darker sides of life in the titular town – from racial prejudice to terrifying supernatural threats. It predominantly centers on original Losers Club member Mike Hanlon's grandparents Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), who've recently moved to Maine, and a fresh-faced set of youngsters who go toe-to-toe with the eponymous evil.

It: Welcome to Derry releases on October 26 on HBO Max in the US, and October 27 on Sky/NOW in the UK. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which will be available from Wednesday, October 8. Here's the It: Welcome to Derry cover you need to be looking out for on newsstands below...